Those bonus billions at Goldman may just go to its trading pros and other employees - and not to its top brass CEO Lloyd Blankfein.AP

As Goldman Sachs braces for a record year in bonuses, the firm’s top brass is considering forgoing taking a dip in what is expected to be a $23 billion bonus pool, sources tell The Post.

Given the heat the gold-plated bank has faced this year in the wake of reporting stellar profits and amassing a bonus pool that could handily beat 2007’s record of a little more than $21 billion, sources say executives like CEO Lloyd Blankfein — who received a $67.9M bonus package in 2007 and nothing in 2008 — and CFO David Viniar are mulling several ideas designed to tamp down on criticism.

Among those options are top execs at the bank skipping a bonus. A second possibility is for people at Blankfein and Viniar’s level to dig into their own pockets and personally donate some of their wealth to charity. Another option is to simply hand out bonuses as usual.

A Goldman spokesman told The Post that the firm has made no determination on bonuses, which are usually handed out at year-end.

Talk of the Goldman brass taking one for the team comes as the bank reported that its bonus pool through the third quarter grew to $16.7 billion. Some estimates have the pool swelling by year-end to $23 billion, or $800,000 for each Goldman employee.

What to do about bonuses has been a major sticking point for Goldman since the spring, when the bank faced an outcry from the public and politicians, who discovered that the bank had taken the $10 billion in bailout cash it received last year and minted enough money to usher in big paydays for Goldman employees.

Matters were made worse by a series of articles that were critical of the company, its ties to Washington and how it has an uncanny ability to make money in both the best of times and the worst. At one point over the summer, Blankfein admonished employees to avoid making high-profile purchases with their bonuses because of the public scrutiny.

The backlash against the firm has gotten so bad that sources said banking execs considered lopping off a piece of the bonus pool — perhaps as much as $2 billion — and donating it to a charity. That plan was scuttled, however, when they realized the move could spark a backlash among shareholders.

Buying back stock was also considered, but that, too, was shelved because now that Goldman is classified as a bank — a change it made at the height of the financial crisis — it’s subject to capital requirements that it might violate should it reduce its stock float.

The issue of what to do with that cash shows the delicate line that Blankfein must walk as he tries to earn money for his shareholders at the same time he seeks to quell public outrage against the bank.

Meanwhile, Goldman said third-quarter profit more than tripled to $3.19 billion, or $5.25 a share, from a year ago. Revenue was $12.4 billion. mark.decambre@nypost.com